Meat slicing machine



March 1, 1949. Q GQQDW|N MEAT SLICING MACHINE 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed May 8, 1946 INVENTOR. LOU/'6 C GOO/Win Patented Mar. 1, 1949 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE MEAT SLICING MACHINE Louie C. Goodwin, Bessemer, Ala.

Application May 8, 1946, Serial No. 668,277

3 Claims. 1

This invention relates to a meat slicing machine and while not limited thereto, is particularly adapted for slicing blocks of fat into thin Slices for sausage wrappings and has for an object the provision of apparatus of the character designated which shall embody a reciprocable meat holder, and a knife disposed in the path of the holder in position to engage and slice meat secured thereto.

A further object of my invention is to provide a meat slicer embodying a movable slicing knife and means to maintain the knife at an elevated temperature to adapt it for cutting fat meat.

Another object of my invention is to provide a meat slicing machine embodying a r'eciprocable meat holder, a knife positioned to be moved across and through the meat to slice it as the holder is reciprocated, and variable means to raise the meat holder a predetermined distance at each reciprocation thereof, whereby to form slices of uniform thickness.

As is well known in the art to which my invention relates, it is quite difficult to slice fat meat, particularly fat pork, but the slicing is much easier if the knife be maintained hot. It is accordingly a particular object of my invention to provide a slicing machine with a band type knife, with the flights of the knife disposed to run horizontally, and with one flight disposed to run in a bath of hot water.

Briefly, my improved machine embodies a main frame having guides in which a carriage is mounted to reciprocate. Mounted on the carriage is a meat holder, to reciprocate therewith, and spanning the holder is a hold-down roller which is carried by the frame and is springbiased to bear downwardly upon a block of meat mounted on the holder. A band type knife is mounted, with its flights running horizontally, and with the upper flight spanning the meat holder in position to engage a block of meat thereon and slice it as the holder is reciprocated. The lower flight of the knife is immersed in a pan through which hot water is at the end of the return stroke of the carriage,

after slicing, whereby to provide for slices of uniform thickness.

Apparatus embodying features of my invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this application, in which Fig. 1 is a plan view of the apparatus partly in section;

Fig. 2 is a sectional elevation looking in the direction of the arrows 11-11 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken along the line III-III of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a sectional view taken along the line IVIV of Fig. l and showing the carriage and hold-down roller removed from the frame of the machine, and with a block of meat thereon;

Fig. 5 is a detail view of the ratchet and pawl mechanism employed for raising the meat holder; and

Fig. 6 is a wiring diagram illustrating the electrical circuits employed.

Referring to the drawings for a better understanding of my invention, my improved machine embodies a main frame having longitudinal extending frame members I 0 and H in the form of channels with their webs turned inwardly to form guides and joined at their end by means of other frame members I2 and I3. The rectangular frame thus formed is supported by legs [4 mounted at the corners thereof.

Mounted within the frame is a rectangular box-like carriage having sides It and I l and ends l8 and I9. See Figs. 3 and 4. The carriage thus formed is supported at its corners by means of rollers 2| which are mounted to run in the channels l0 and H as guides.

Fitting within the carriage is a vertically movable meat holder comprising a plate 22 having a series of holes 23 across one end thereof. At the ends of the series of holes are guide pins 24 and 26 and a hold-down bar 27 is provided with sleeves-'28 and 29 at the end thereof which fit over the pins 24 and 26. The holder bar 21 is provided with a plurality of pins 31 which are disposed to enter the holes 23 in the plate 22. In operation, a block of meat 20 to be sliced is mounted on the plate 22 and is so cut as to provide a protruding rind or skin 25 along one edge thereof through which the pins 3| are driven into the holes 23, thereby anchoring the block of meat onto the plate 22. On the under side of the plate 22 are guide pins 32 which fit into sleeves 33 carried by the sides l6 and ll of the carriage. The meat holder is supported and actuated vertically by means of a pair of racks '34 and 36 which are carried by the plate and which mesh, respectively, with pinions 31 and 38 mounted on a shaft 39 extending through the end wall 18 of the carriage and provided with a crank 4| on its outer end for manual operation. Automatic operation of the rack and pinion mechanism will travel of the carriage.

, on the shaft 36,

be described later. The lower ends of the racks 34 and 36 travel in guides 42 and 43.

The block of meat '20 is held down on the plate 22 by means of a hold-down roller 44 which spans the carriage and the meat holder. The holddown roller is journalled at its ends in bars 41 and 46 which extend downwardly through guides 48 and 49 mounted on the side frame members I6 and II, At the lower ends of the bars 46 and 41, respectively, are springs and 52 each of which surrounds one of the bars and bears at its upper end against a collar 53 on its associated guide. The lower ends of the springs bear against collars 54 whereby the bars 46 and 41 with the hold-down roller 44 are spring-biased downwardly. The lower ends of the bars 46 and 41 are cross connected by means of a bar 56. A lever 51 for manually raising the hold-down roller 44 is pivoted to a bracket 58 carried by the legs I4 of the frame at one end thereof. The inner end of the lever 51 is connected to the cross bar 56 and the outer end extends outwardly from the frame as shown in Fig. 2 where it may be actuated manually to raise the roller 44. Pins 56 extend through the upper ends of the bars 46 and 41 to limit their downward movement.

The block of meat 26 is sliced by means of a band type knife 6| mounted on pulleys 62 and 63 for its flights to run horizontally, its upper flight being disposed, as shown in Fig. 4 of the drawing, to engage the block of meat 20 on the meat holder and slice it as the holder is reciprocated. Disposed beneath the pulleys 62 and 63 is a tank 64 for hot water in which the lower flight of the knife is immersed throughout its length. Hot water may be circulated through the tank 64 by means of pipes 66 and 67, whereby to maintain its temperature elevated at all times, The shaft 68 of the pulley 62 is mounted in a bearing block 69, the position of which is adjustable by means of set screws l and 2 to take up lost motion in the knife 6|. The shaft '43 of the pulley 63 is mounted in bearings 14 and I6 on opposite sides of the pulley 63 and serves as a drive shaft for the knife. motor Tl having a pulley IS. A belt 19 is trained about the pulley I8 and a second pulley 8| mounted on the shaft 13.

The carriage is reciprocated by means of a motor 82 supported from the under side of the carriage. A drum 83 mounted in brackets 34 on the under side of the carriage is driven by means of a pulley 86 and belt 81 from the motor 82. The drum 83 has wound thereon a cable 38, the ends of which are secured to the frame at 89 and 9| and which, by its rotation, winds the cable on the drum 83 and pulls the carriage along. The motor 82 is a reversing motor and the circuits therefor are controlled by a double throw reversing switch 82 mounted on the carriage to travel therewith and which has an operating member 93 protruding from the sides thereof in position to engage suitable abutments 94 and 96 at opposite ends of the This causes the motor 82 to reverse its direction of rotation and thus to reverse the direction of movement of the carriage at the end of each traverse.

The meat holder is raised at each reciprocation of the carriage by means of a ratchet 97 mounted on the end of the pinion shaft 39 which is engaged by a pawl 98 pivotally mounted at 99 in a holder ml which holder is also pivoted at its lower end A fixed pawl I06 sustains the load between movements of the holder NH. The

The knife is driven by means of a 4 holder IDI extends upwardly to provide an operating arm I62 having a slot I03 therein and is connected by means of a pin I04 passing through the slot to the core I05 of an electric solenoid I06. The winding for the solenoid is provided with a circuit I01 which, as may be seen in Fig. 6 of the drawing, is closed when the motor 82 is moving the carriage in a direction for the block of meat to be engaged by the knife 6|. This causes the block of meat to be raised just prior to beginning the slicing stroke of the carriage. On the return movement, the solenoid circuit is not energized. The operating arm of the pawl holder IIlI is biased outwardly by means of a spring I08 against a stop pin I09. The end I8 of the carriage is provided with a plurality of holes III in which the stop pin I69 may be positioned,

' whereby the operating stroke of the pawl holder may be varied, thereby varying the distance the meat holder is raised and providing means for varying the thickness of the meat slices.

From the foregoing description the operation of my improved meat slicing machine will be readily understood. The block of meat 26 is mounted on the meat holder plate 22 as shown in Fig. 4 of the drawing with the pins 3| of the holder bar 21 passing through the protruding rind 25 to hold the block in place. When placing the block of meat on the holder, the hold-down roller 44 is raised by bearing down on the outer end of the lever 5'! and overcoming the force exerted by the springs 5| and 52. The carriage with the block of meat thereon is reciprocated by means of the reversible motor 82, the cable 88, and the cable drum 83. As the carriage is reciprocated, it moves under the hold-down roller 44 with the latter bearing downwardly on the block of meat 20 just in advance of the knife 6|, as shown in Fig. 4. As the block of meat 20 is pushed against the edge of the knife 6|, the latter is restrained from backward movement by means of a guide roller IIZ mounted on a suitable bracket |I3 secured to the frame member II] in position to bear against the back or noncutting edge of the blade. The blade 6| also passes through slotted guides I I4 and I I6 mounted on the sides of the frame which restrain it against upward'and backward movement upon engagement with the block of meat 26. The thickness of the slices of meat may be varied, as already described, by varying the operating movement of the pawl holder |0|. Upon the return stroke of the carriage, the limit of movement is reached as shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 4 of the drawing before the knife 6| reaches the holding bar 21. I have found with my improved machine that meat may be rapidly and accurately sliced with the exertion of a minimum of power. This improved result is contributed to greatly by the heated knife blade.

When it is desired to lower the holder, the pawl 98 is disengaged from the ratchet by means of the flexible member Ill, while pawl I00 may be disengaged by rotating it about its pivot point.

From the foregoing it will be apparent that I have devised an improved meat slicing machine which is simple and sturdy of construction, and reliable in operation and one which is especially adapted to slice fat meat for sausage wrappings.

While I have shown my invention in but one form, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that it is not so limited, but is susceptible of various changes and modifications, without departing from the spirit thereof, and I desire, therefore, that only such limitations shall be placed 1. In a meat slicing machine, a main frame, a carriage mounted to reciprocate in the frame, a meat holder mounted on the carriage including means to secure and hold a block of meat to be sliced, a band type knife with horizontal flights, the upper flight being disposed in the path of the block of meat to slice it as it is reciprocated, a reversing electric motor for driving the carriage, a switch for the motor, means to actuate the switch at each end of the travel of the carriage, ratchet and pawl mechanism for raising the meat holder, an electric solenoid for actuating said mechanism, a circuit for the solenoid, and means to energize said circuit at the begin ning of the slicing movement of the meat holder.

2. In a meat slicing machine, a frame, guides in the sides of the frame, a reciprocable carriage mounted on the frame and having rollers thereon disposed in the guides, a meat holder mounted on the carriage, a power driven band type knife with its flights disposed horizontally and its upper flight extending across the meat holder in the path of a block of meat thereon, spring biased hold-down roller mounted on the frame and spanning the carriage to bear against the block of meat directly in advance of the edge of the knife, a pan disposed for the lower flight of the knife to run therein, and means to circulate hot water through the pan.

3. In a meat slicing machine, a frame, guides in the sides of the frame, a reciprocable carriage mounted on the frame and having rollers thereon disposed in the guides, a meat holder mounted on the carriage, a power driven band type knife with its flights disposed horizontally and its upper flight extending across the meat holder in the path of a block of meat thereon, a spring biased hold-down roller mounted on the frame and spanning the carriage to bear against the block of meat directly in adance of the edge of the knife, and a pan disposed for the lower flight of the knife to run therein, means to circulate hot water through the pan, and means to raise the hold-down roller to clear the meat holder.

LOUIE C. GOODWIN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS 2 Number Name Date 358,323 Ballew Feb. 22, 1887 638,238 Haley Dec. 5, 1899 1,129,360 Niebling Feb. 23, 1915 1,384,732 Schermer July 12, 1921 25 1,495,590 Hogelucht May 27, 1924 1,544,339 Oderman June 30, 1925 1,590,708 Swanson June 29, 1926 1,663,543 Buck Mar. 27, 1928 1,665,888 Litty Apr. 10, 1928 1,703,217 Watson Feb. 26, 1929 1,759,478 Bergstrom May 20, 1930 1,811,186 Rankin June 23, 1931 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 500,457 Great Britain Feb. 9, 1939 

